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Children killed in fire on Chicago's South Side

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CHICAGO, IL - Four children were killed early Monday in a fire on Chicago's South Side, authorities said.

Chicago Fire Department Chief Michael Fox told reporters at the scene that the first firefighters to arrive found "heavy fire blowing" from the building's windows. The blaze appeared to start on the second floor of an 18-unit apartment building in the Roseland neighborhood at about 3:30 a.m., authorities said.

"We had to force the doors to search for other victims," Fox said. "We're still putting the pieces together."

About 50 other residents escaped the fire, authorities said.

Albert Miller lives on the building's second floor and said he yelled to his neighbors to try to get them out of the building after his dog's barking woke him. Miller said he saw two people jump from the building.

"As I was coming out the front door, two people came flying out the window. A lady and a man hit the ground," Miller told WLS-TV, which reported that the fire was extinguished by 4:30 a.m. "I tried to get them, but the fire was just too bad."

Two adults also were injured in the blaze and taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in the nearby suburb of Oak Lawn, Chicago Police Department officer Ron Gaines said.

None of the victims' names have been released. Ages and genders of the children were not immediately available, police said.

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